Ice anglers stranded on Mille Lacs

many resorts on Mille Lacs Lake advised ice anglers to leave the lake early in the day Sunday to avoid hazardous conditions, though not everyone did so.

“Some of them did; some of them didn’t,” Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida said Monday evening.

The non-compliance resulted in about 100 vehicles stuck on the ice Sunday night and into Monday waiting for plows.

Despite the many anglers trapped in their fish houses overnight, Guida said there wasn’t a “super hyper crisis emergency” situation many may have made it out to be.

“It was no different than you being at your house getting stranded, except you weren’t free to move about,” Guida said. “There were some people that were upset to the nth degree because they paid money to go out on a lake road that was maintained and that they weren’t out immediately.”

By 8 p.m. Monday, Guida said nearly everyone who needed to get off the ice did so, with a couple stragglers left in their fish houses but aware resort workers were on their way.

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4576717-anglers-ignore-warnings-get-stuck-mille-lacs-lake-overnight

ClownColor wrote:

Tough crowd. And I think you guys are blowing this out of proportion.

Agree. Something else to consider. Saturday afternoon at 4pm it was still relatively nice out. That puts a lot of guys 12 beers into a case! I think most would rather have them stuck on the lake than driving home.

Here is a birds eye view of Hunters Point Perch Extravaganza. Gives you an idea of how many people were on the lake. If only a 100 get stuck, pretty low percentage. Not sure how many people got the word to get off at this point?

Video from Doug Ertl – Mille Lacs Sharpie.

We knew what the weather was going to be like. We had no warnings of when to be off or where to stay off from.
But we arnt idiots either. We were not in any life or death situation. It was not pure anarchy. It was a little snow with a few breezes. Ha ha just kidding.

Wonder if Hunters sold any beer that day.

Bearcat89 wrote:

We knew what the weather was going to be like. We had no warnings of when to be off or where to stay off from.
But we arnt idiots either. We were not in any life or death situation. It was not pure anarchy. It was a little snow with a few breezes. Ha ha just kidding.

We were out over night in Alexandria too. I like the idea of a little adventure. Just make sure you’re prepared and let mother nature do her thing. It was so nice to be in a warm fish house and hear the wind ripping all day long.

The worst that can happen is you need to pay someone with heavier equipment to come get you. Like Bearcat said it’s just snow.

Bearcat89 wrote:

We knew what the weather was going to be like. We had no warnings of when to be off or where to stay off from.
But we arnt idiots either. We were not in any life or death situation. It was not pure anarchy. It was a little snow with a few breezes. Ha ha just kidding.

X2. The only idiots that were out there were the ones that weren’t prepared..

I hope everyone is okay. It sounded like this morning they where still looking for people on lotws. One party with 2 adults, 2 kids not heard from for a couple days now.

Mike W wrote:

I hope everyone is okay. It sounded like this morning they where still looking for people on lotws. One party with 2 adults, 2 kids not heard from for a couple days now.

Now that’s scary. Hope they are well prepared. And hope all goes good for them

Mike W wrote:

I hope everyone is okay. It sounded like this morning they where still looking for people on lotws. One party with 2 adults, 2 kids not heard from for a couple days now.

It’s one thing to be a few miles from an access but a completely different animal when you’re talking the middle of LOTW. I also hope they were prepared… I guess no cell phone is a bad start to that. I hope everyone is ok.

A guy that the news had on the phone while “stranded” out on Mille Lacs, was out there with his teenage son and sons girlfriend, said, ” I had no idea the weather was supposed get this bad”. For real. I don’t know where to begin.
I do Hope the folks are all ok. But every TV, Radio, smart phone, dumb phone, gas station, and McDonalds was warning about this for days.

Pailofperch wrote:

A guy that the news had on the phone while “stranded” out on Mille Lacs, was out there with his teenage son and sons girlfriend, said, ” I had no idea the weather was supposed get this bad”. For real. I don’t know where to begin.
I do Hope the folks are all ok. But every TV, Radio, smart phone, dumb phone, gas station, and McDonalds was warning about this for days.

you’d be surprised the amount of people both young and old that dont watch/follow the weather that i talk to???

or maybe its just that i’m that anal about it????

you’d be surprised the amount of people both young and old that dont watch/follow the weather that i talk to???

or maybe its just that i’m that anal about it????
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I run in to that every day. Guys coming to work not bowing it was gonna be rainy / windy / cold / blizzard ext….
We personally dont have TV at home so my wife I’m sure goes unknowing most the time. And I doubt she cares enough to watch accuweather on her phone.

Any idea as to whether the people with flags and strobe lights were found first?

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mike W wrote:</div>
I hope everyone is okay. It sounded like this morning they where still looking for people on lotws. One party with 2 adults, 2 kids not heard from for a couple days now.

Now that’s scary. Hope they are well prepared. And hope all goes good for them

Read this afternoon they where found and all right.

Getting stranded on big lakes has been happening…. forever ! There also has always been shore experts, immediately ready to belittle and make snide comments about others, because they know it all and are so superior sitting behind their keyboard. Difference is with social media and everyone having a smart phone, we know about it all immediately. Also, people are so soft nowadays, it makes it newsworthy. If worse came to worse, I am pretty sure snowmobiles could make the trek to rescue those who needed it…. back in the day, when we got stranded… before everybody had cell phones, we got on our sleds and went to the resort for a hot breakfast… it was then we found out about the storm that blew in the night before… we were able to re-stock on whatever we needed and even did a couple runs for neighbors without sleds, for beer and cigs. Eventually, it lets up and plows do get through…its not like ice out is on Monday morning people. Love the shot at women anglers with wheelhouses, with no business being on the mans lake. We all know weather forecasters are always right too…

C’mon G, what we really want to know is the sun shining in Hawaii?

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Andy…I’m having a hard time believing that too.

Or…you just being funny, I get’cha now

Bonne can go anywhere!

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FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:</div>
Andy…I’m having a hard time believing that too.

Or…you just being funny, I get’cha now

Bonne can go anywhere!

Hmmm, well…? You described a rather “tall tale” and it seemed that you were just trying to pull on our pee pee.

So possibly you claim a sequel to Aesop’s Fables?

You have photographic evidence and seeing is believing. Hmmm…

I hope one day Andy can share a boat with Andy. Andy (the student) could learn a lot from Andy (who drove the Bonne).

I know already, Andy and Andy would get along just fine.

Never had a wheel house Andy but when I ice fished, I spent more nights in my hub houses than most people do in their wheel houses. And there was a stretch where I spent Friday through Sunday most every weekend on mille lacs, just me in a hub.

When I’d stay at a resort(always appledorns), I often went up a day early and slept on the lake. Get some good fishing in before it turned into a party.

Eventually a truck and a bigger hub house. From a zero gravity chair to a cot. Now I just live on a great fishery that never closes season on that yummy fish so I have no need to sleep in boats or stay in hub houses.

Enjoy it while your young eh.

Brian knows I can catch a Flathead during a snow storm in October

There was a report that a young woman and her 4 month old drove out in a car, against advice from the resort, advised to stay close, didn’t and got in a bad spot out there. Now THAT, is not real bright. PERIOD.

Bass Thumb wrote:

I feel bad for the resorts who were forced to wreck their plow trucks “rescueing” people who never should have been out there in the first place. There was a pic on Facebook of a sedan drifted up to the windshield wipers. Sounds like numerous resorts had plows go down this weekend. The $10 road pass doesn’t go very far in a mechanic shop.

Not everyone only pays a $10 road pass I know places that charge 600 bucks for winter service to skids with one move, that covers maintenance….

If they didn’t make money they wouldn’t do it

From the outside looking in $10 bucks seems awfully cheap to me. I pay $10 to launch a boat that requires almost nothing on the resorts part and I think that is cheap considering what they invested in the business.

Smackem33 wrote:

If they didn’t make money they wouldn’t do it

That quote would be better changed around to ” if they wanted to make money they would do something else”.

Mike W wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Smackem33 wrote:</div>
If they didn’t make money they wouldn’t do it

That quote would be better changed around to ” if they wanted to make money they would do something else”.

It has been reported that Adrians on LOW made over $1MM on road fees last year. I am sure they are making money…

Gross & net are two different things.

Dutchboy wrote:

Gross & net are two different things.

Never said they weren’t, I said I’m sure they are making money…

And thats why they are in business. My point was $10 seemed cheap to plow roads on the lake. Hell you can’t get your driveway plowed for $10.

Dutchboy wrote:

And thats why they are in business. My point was $10 seemed cheap to plow roads on the lake. Hell you can’t get your driveway plowed for $10.

You’re right, that is cheap, but I wasn’t responding to your comment initially, the other one “if they wanted to make money they would do something else”. They are clearly making money and lots of it. The actual number I read was over $2MM. They made a ton. Last year wasn’t nearly as tough as this year. Its been a nightmare up there.

Keep in mind lotws ice season is a fair amount longer than mille lacs. 2 months longer? And not a chance you can go off what they brought in and say they make money. Resort expenses must be huge. and go on and on if people show up or not. Im sure mille lacs resorts are loving it right now as the main season is closed and they are still running full boar doing clean up.